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Football London
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Rob Guest

Gareth Bale and the five players with the opportunity to change Jose Mourinho's Tottenham plans

Tottenham return to FA Cup action on Monday evening with Championship side Wycombe Wanderers their opponents in the fourth round of the competition.

Defeating non-league side Marine 5-0 earlier in the month to set up a tie at Adams Park, a win against Gareth Ainsworth's team will see the Lilywhites come up against either Everton or Sheffield Wednesday in the last 16.

Jose Mourinho's Spurs players have had a nice rest following last Sunday's win over Sheffield United but he is still expected to shuffle things about with Liverpool to come on Thursday in N17.

The likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could start on the bench at Wycombe, thus giving rare opportunities to those on the periphery of the first team such as Carlos Vinicius, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura.

But who needs to take their chance in the FA Cup fourth round game? football.london takes a look.

Japhet Tanganga

As both Serge Aurier and Matt Doherty are doubts for the Wycombe clash, Japhet Tanganga is likely to get the nod to start at right-back.

Many see the academy graduate's long-term future at centre-back but Mourinho indicated at the end of November that he sees him as more of a right-back.

Opportunities have been few and far between for the youngster this season but he can send an important message to his boss with a strong showing against the Chairboys.

Amid Doherty's struggles since his move from Wolves, Tanganga will be hoping to jump ahead of the Republic of Ireland international in the pecking order and challenge Aurier for a starting spot.

Toby Alderweireld

Mourinho's last few team selections suggest that he still hasn't decided on his preferred centre-back partnership.

Having gone with Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier in the draw at home to Fulham, Joe Rodon and Ben Davies came in to partner Dier in South Yorkshire last Sunday.

Toby Alderweireld has only played in one of the team's last four league games and he appears to have a big task on his hands despite his previous good form.

Toby Alderweireld has been in and out of the Tottenham team recently (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

The Belgian international needs to be at his very best against Wycombe to give Mourinho something to think about ahead of the Liverpool encounter.

Erik Lamela

We've not seen a lot of Erik Lamela in the Tottenham team in recent weeks following his absence from the matchday squad.

In the headlines at the start of 2021 as he was one of three Spurs players photographed at a social gathering over the festive period despite the current guidelines in place, the 28-year-old's only appearance since then was the final 15 minutes against Fulham.

Lamela is a Mourinho favourite but he does need to up his game time and show what he can do if he wants to be in the side week in, week out.

A player with the ability to make things happen when he is in the team, he could be a pivotal figure for the Lilywhites at Adams Park on Monday night.

Gareth Bale

Tottenham fans are still waiting to see the best of Bale since his return to the club from Real Madrid in September.

Fitness and injury issues have hampered him so far, with his last start for the team coming in the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Stoke City prior to Christmas.

An unused substitute in the previous two league games against Fulham and Sheffield United, Bale must hit form sooner rather than later if he wants to be at the club again next season.

Still a player who can give an awful lot to the team in the remaining months of the season, the 31-year-old needs to start showing it.

Lucas Moura

One of the first names on the teamsheet following Mourinho's appointment as head coach in November 2019, Lucas has played a bit-part role this campaign.

Lucas Moura has a big fight on his hands to become a regular again under Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

The Brazilian is just not doing enough when he is on the pitch and it comes as no surprise to see him way down the pecking order in terms of right-wingers at the club.

Likely to be given the nod at Wycombe, the ex-PSG man needs to replicate his performance from the previous round when he impressed in the drubbing of Marine.

Failure to do that and he's likely to find himself watching on from the substitutes' bench in the league more often than not.

Carlos Vinicius

Vinicius will be aiming to repeat his previous FA Cup appearance as he netted a first-half hat-trick against Marine.

Mainly utilised in cup football this season with Kane running the show in the league, the loan signing has a big few months ahead of him as he looks to make his move to the club permanent in the summer.

While he may not have had sufficient time in the Premier League to make an impact after only playing a grand total of 24 minutes in four games, he need to impress when given the chance in the FA Cup and Europa League.

Proving that he does know where the back of the net is after hitting six goals in 11 appearances this term, another goal or two will go down extremely well with his boss.

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